


Resist, Shout It Out

by bravopirla



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Angst, F/F, Gen, Gym AU, basically they lift and are gay, catra experiences Feelings, i love lonnie :pensive:, not much though because i love them, surpsisingly not inspired by how catra literally cannot breathe in s2
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-27
Updated: 2019-06-27
Packaged: 2020-05-20 20:13:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,720
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19383895
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bravopirla/pseuds/bravopirla
Summary: When Catra had first seen Adora, her ex-best friend and ex-girlfriend, walking into her gym after she’d disappeared for almost 6 months, she’d almost choked. Literally.Or: catra is gay and almost fucking dies. also lonnie is there.





	Resist, Shout It Out

When Catra had first seen Adora, her ex-best friend and ex-girlfriend, walking into her gym after she’d disappeared for almost 6 months, she’d almost choked. Literally.

She was bench-pressing and had just decided to try switching to heavier weights, after all her roommate, Lonnie, was deadlifting a mere two feet away and would – most likely – help her if she got stuck. However, in that fateful moment, Lonnie went to buy some water while Catra kept going.

And so, she was basically on her own when she heard the door open and _a way too familiar_ voice follow the sound. She whipped her head back to look at the entrance, and it wasn’t the whiplash that made her drop the weight she’d just lifted over her head, although it had certainly played a part. No, it was the sight of that stupid ponytail and that stupid, _stupid_ blazer Adora always wore and that she knew smelled like her when she’d steal it in snuggle in the fabric on cold morning.

“Oof!” Ah, right. There was a hefty weight on her chest, and it wasn’t just the sudden memories flood and angst. She tried to hurriedly lift it off before Adora recognized her and tried to do something weird like, help her not choke, but the awkward position of the bar as it sat right under her chin made it ten times harder. She groaned. God, where the fuck was Lonnie when you needed her?!

“Uh…Catra?” The soft voice made her skin crawl. Of course it was Adora. She considered slithering under the weight and running away but she’d left her keys in the changing room, forcing her to look for a plan B that didn’t include letting the weight crush her to death.

As she came up with no alternatives, she huffed and looked up at the figure standing next to her. “ _What?_ ” she hissed. Adora seemed a bit peeved by her reaction, but not surprised. Well, what else would she expect after _she_ disappeared? “Do you need help?” She visibly regretted the words the second they left her mouth, outwardly cringing. With good reason.

Catra had always fucking hated being seen as helpless and needing help.

And _that_ was just another thing, along with the pressure on her lungs and the feeling of dried sweat on her whole body and – oh right, _her fucking ex –_ that made her furious. The drop that overfilled the vase.

“I don’t want your fucking help Adora, I’ve _never_ wanted your fucking h-” she had to wheeze the words out as she still couldn’t get the damn bar off her chest, but she doubted that was the reason for Adora’s sudden smug grin. “So you don’t _want_ my help, but do you _need_ it?”

“I- What!!” She eloquently screeched. Why did Adora have to be a little shit right now, and _why the fuck_ did she get the urge to wipe the smirk off her stupid face with her own lips?! She thought she was over getting crushed at the worst moments possible on the worst girls possible!

Adora had the gall, the fucking _audacity_ , to laugh. Obviously she’d never forgotten the sound, it was too free and light for her dumbass brain to not think about at least once a day, but the real thing left her floored. It sounded so…happy.

She tried her best not to stare with her mouth open as Adora stopped laughing and just stood there for a second, grinning at her like they were still on that playground a year ago, like they hadn’t just shared their first kiss under the moonlight because she was a fucking sap, holding hands and sharing her warm jacket.

Catra was fucking fuming.

“Listen here, you stupid b-!” Before she could get back at her for making her feel things she’d buried deep in her heart with a perfectly thought-out insult, Lonnie reappeared in the weight room, holding a cold bottle of water in one hand and a half-eaten protein bar in the other.

“Uh. Adora.” How eloquent. Perhaps after her Shakespearian speech she’d notice her roommate slowly suffocating.

“Can I get some fucking help?” she huffed. She pointedly ignored as the smirk on Adora’s _stupid_ face grew smugger. Lonnie finally looked down at her. “Oh, right.” Catra mumbled something about Lonnie’s never-ending vocal fluency as she was finally freed from the weight and quickly got up from the bench, arms tightly crossed at her chest.

“So, what exactly is going on here?” Lonnie tiredly asked as she looked back and forth at Adora’s now apologetic expression and at Catra’s irate glare. After a few seconds of silence, she sighed and seemed to give up, walking away from the two equally unresponsive girls. But then she opened the door to the changing room and nodded at them to follow her inside.

Catra once again considered saying ‘fuck it’ and bolting out, but she didn’t like the idea of being stuck outside their shared apartment too much. She rolled her eyes and dragged her feet after Adora trough the door and under Lonnie’s half-curious half-annoyed gaze.

Once inside, the three of them sat on the empty bench and once again nobody spoke for a while. A girl stepped out one of the stalls and left the room. Another one followed a few minutes after. They’d both looked curiously at the three. Fuck this.

“Nothing happened, I just dropped the weight and _she_ ” Adora flinched a bit at her pointed glare “was being a bitch. That’s literally it.” Lonnie lifted a single eyebrow but didn’t comment, then she turned slightly towards Adora. “Is that what happened?” She just nodded and stared at the floor.

Another moment in silence. Catra started tapping her foot. She knew damn well Lonnie hadn’t made them sit in this stuffy room just to ask about Catra’s incident, and judging from the way Adora’s fists were clenched in the pockets of her blazer, she knew too.

At last, Lonnie sighed and spoke up: “Why did you suddenly reappear?”

She didn’t need to look at Adora or address her for her to know she was the only one who could answer. She took a shaky breath in and seemed to calculate her words. “I-It’s a really complicated story and just…I can’t tell you yet. I’m sorry.” She whispered.

Catra clenched her teeth. That answered none of the thousands of queries hidden in Lonnie’s question and the way her voice shook on the last word made her skin crawl.  She sounded so fragile and so- so _honest_ , vulnerable for them to see and so unlike the Adora she remembered. Catra pressed her nails into her arms and bit the inside of her cheek to keep herself from snapping at her. Why wasn’t she acting like the strong-willed, daring, bold, reckless and unyielding girl she fell in love with? What happened to her?

And now she was getting protective of the same person who’d hurt her. _Great_.

Lonnie observed her subtle movements and she felt like she could read her like a book, she guessed being childhood friends and living together played a big part in her ability, but she’d always been incredibly receptive of other’s emotions and thoughts. However, she didn’t seem to want to do anything about them. “You don’t have to tell us right now, but we _do_ deserve an explanation. You can’t just pop back in town and expect us to be understanding, unless you have a good reason to do so. A really good one.” It was like every word from Lonnie’s mouth made the blonde girl shrink a little smaller on the bench as she meekly lowered her head. And then, she just stood up and gestured at Catra to do the same.

Obviously, she did not. “What- you want to leave?! Just like that?! But-!” Her friend’s hard gaze was enough to cut her off for the moment, so she stomped over to her bag and grabbed her equipment as Lonnie did the same. She made sure to bang the door behind as they left.

“Can you fucking explain what that was now?” She hissed. Lonnie sighed – again, it drove Catra mad - and replied: “Calm down. I know it hurts but – “

“But what?! What the fuck could possibly justify her to just leave like that? Uh? You know I fucking loved her and you just let her off like that?!” she screamed and could not care less if people stared. She couldn’t understand how a day could turn to absolute shit in less than twenty minutes.

“Do you think I was happy that she left?! I know you’re incredibly hurt but she was my friend too! Do you think I was happy when she left and didn’t even say goodbye?” Lonnie shouted back just as loud, and Catra realized that she’d probably been holding back the whole time in the changing room to seem much more composed than she actually was. “Do you think that she wouldn’t have just left again if we pushed her to speak after not saying a word about it for _six months_? If there’s a chance that she’ll explain what the fuck happened and explains herself, I’m willing to take it, even if it takes her weeks.” Her voice gradually decreased in volume and had now turned into a much softer, much more delicate tone. “I’m not saying we have to trust her again, or that we’ll go back to how it was before, but I want to believe there’s a reason for this. I don’t want to believe all the years spent together were wasted, and I know you think the same, even if you won’t admit it to yourself.”

The last bit got her by surprise and she just gasped in offended surprise instead of actually replying.

“Catra, I saw you bantering like a middle school couple back there. You two still have a connection and I know you feel it too.” Lonnie sounded much more like her cool-headed, collected self now. And Catra couldn’t exactly deny she was right. “Whatever. You’re cooking since you want to be the mature one so bad.”

She snorted. “Ha-ha, how funny. You know damn well the fridge is empty.”

“Ok, you order the pizza then. And _no_ mushrooms this time.”

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> i always make lonnie and catra roommates because i feel that it kinda fits the horde dorms mechanics and also i love lonnie and think she could play a big part in reuniting catradora
> 
> also the title is basically conceal dont feel but inspired by a lesbian song


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